It's 1920 in Japan, but not the Japan of history books. In this Japan, an evil darkness threatens to take over the capital and only the Imperial Flower Combat Troop, a group of girls fighting with Spirit Power and steam powered Koubu, can stop it from spreading. That's pretty much the only detail I could gather from the first five episodes. With no prior knowledge of the game, I must admit that I was at least slightly confused by it all. Early on, I found myself questioning instead of enjoying.

What exactly is this evil darkness the ladies are trying to defend against? And why does the combat troop parade around as stage actresses when they're obviously getting plenty of funding and there is no apparent need for a cover up? Heck, more importatnly, what's Spirit Power and these Koubu robot things?

Yes, it's a little confusing; and let's face it, with a name like Imperial Flower Combat Troop, it's pretty silly, too. But that didn't stop me from enjoying the episodes— a little. Surprisingly, by the end of the five 20-minute episodes, I realized it wasn't the action that was most rewarding, it was the growing relationships between the team. Sure, I wanted more action (frankly, there isn't nearly enough, but there are plenty of teases for action to come that actually rarely does), but the characterization was developed rather nicely for a television series aimed toward preteens.

At first, when young Sakura relocates to stay with the team, she's an outcast, but slowly she begins to gain trust from the soldiers/actresses to become a solid member of the team. She has to overcome the bitchiness of Sumire (the pretty one) and the shyness of Iris (the young one) and the disconcerted nature of Maria (the mature, strong one). The team's development really kicks into high gear when Ohgami, a man and thus an outsider, comes to take Maria's place as captain of the squad. I really believed Maria's burden of self doubt and Ohgami's need to have his team trust in him. The characters actually grow emotionally, which is a very pleasant surprise.

Although the growing relationships were the high point of the first part of this series, that doesn't necessarily make it all that enjoyable. All the strong points in the early part of this series are based on inner turmoil. What this show really needs is an outward foe. The Wakiji and the Crimson Miroku need to be a stronger presence to tie each episode together (not to mention, move the story along a little faster). As it stands, there's just enough of a running plot to connect each episode, but barely. And with details left out, it's often hard to follow.

The first five episodes of Sakura Wars TV do a fine job setting up fans for the remainder of the series, when the drama and action increases dramatically. For fans willing to go the distance and enjoy the entire run of shows, five episodes might not seem like a big sacrifice, but for casual fans wanting a fun 20 minute ride, they won't find it here.

THE VIDEO
ADV Films presents Sakura Wars TV: Opening Night in the show's original 4:3 full frame format. I was quite impressed with the transfer. The animation is very sharp with bright, vivid colors. I was particularly pleased by both the muted color scenes (dreams or flashbacks) and the more harsh, night scenes (battles): details remained sharp and smooth in both. Considering the prints probably weren't Hollywood animation quality, this transfer more than does the job. The only real problem arises from the occasional speck and scratch. These are never offensive, but they are noticeable.

THE AUDIO
Despite the cover stating the disc only presents 2.0 sound, this DVD actually offers 5.1 Dolby Digital sound for the English track (sadly, the Japanese track is only offered in 2.0). Although I would've liked to enjoy the show in its native language, I couldn't pass up the fairly impressive digital track.

The English version won't rattle the windows, but it does offer a much deeper low end that really amped the action scenes. The front right and left channels are used nicely, but the rears aren't used much at all, just the occasional ambiance effect. But that's probably the only shortcoming. Other than that, the voices come across crisp and the music sounds very sharp.

I must point out my concern about the subtitles. The opening song is not dubbed in English, so the subtitles flash by on screen. However, episodes 2 and 4 only offer subtitles in Japanese. Weird. Also, if you listen to the English version with English subtitles, you'll notice that what's being said isn't exactly what is written. Sometimes, the differences are substantial. Die-hard fans of the show will most likely want to get every interpretation possible by watching the shows in Japanese with English subtitles, then again with the English dub.

THE BONUS FEATURES
Not much going on in the extras category I'm afraid. You get clean opening animation and clean closing animation which is no more than the animation without the credits rolling by on screen. You also get 8 trailers for other anime titles.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Although the first five episodes of the Sakura Wars television series are probably considered top notch by fans of the game, new fans might be a bit lost. There is very little explanation, and the action sequences are few and far between, despite the fact they are hinted at throughout the five shows. This action is picked up more frequently in the next four episodes, so you may want to rent this disc before delving into the better part of the series.